Toby is an exceptional individual.
He started school at the age of four in a CH/SDC
(Communicatively Handicapped Special Day Class) for
preschoolers. Over the years he was diagnosed as
having language processing disorders and given
various labels - CH, SDL (Severe Disorder of
Language), Asperger's Syndrome ("high functioning
autistic"). As a parent I found these labels of
little use - I only cared that he learned. As an
upper elementary student he learned to read, and his
reading fluency and comprehension increased steadily
each year.
However, math was a great
difficulty, because, like many students, including
many in regular classrooms, Toby seemed unable to
memorize his math facts - neither
addition/subtraction combinations, nor times tables.
He counted on his fingers, used charts, and was
generally frustrated. Perhaps the most disheartening
development occurred when his teacher began giving
"Ice Cream Math" tests. Students would get ice cream
each time they passed a series of weekly timed tests
on math facts.
Frustrated and upset, because I
believed Toby was one of those students, like many I
had had as an upper elementary teacher, who just
"couldn't" memorize math facts and simply needed to
use charts and tables in order to move on in math, I
told my son not to worry. It was OK, I said, if he
didn't get ice cream at school. We would work at
home, and we could decide when he had earned ice
cream, and make our own outings to the ice cream
shop!
We began spending 15-20 minutes
each weekday evening using a series of simple
strategies involving visualizing, verbalizing, and
manipulating homemade materials, and to my own
amazement, Toby began passing his Ice Cream Math
test at school every Friday. "Slow down, Toby,"
joked one of his classmates. His teacher was very
surprised, since Toby had been struggling with his
2's times table test since September, and in
February suddenly began to pass a new test every
week, including cumulative review tests. And he
retained the learning! Unlike my experiences as a
classroom teacher with chants, drills, songs, and
games, where some students still did not learn their
facts, Toby remembered the facts he learned, and was
able to move on with success to two and three digit
multiplication and long division.
Following Toby's triumph, I
trained classroom volunteers and Title I
instructional aides at the elementary school where I
was working as Title I/ Program Coordinator to use
this same method with low achieving 3-6 grade
students, and we met with the same success! Starting
with the most needy students and spending only 15-20
minutes per day with each one, we found that the
kids quickly mastered their "missing" facts and
"graduated," allowing the aides and volunteers to
help other students. While this method is designed
for one-to-one tutoring rather than group work, it
is so simple that even elementary students can be
trained as tutors, and work with peers or cross age
buddies.
I believe that the greatest
potential for this method lies in the training of
parents. This 25 minute video is perfect for your
mandated Title I parent meetings, as well as Family
Math nights and similar programs at non-Title I
schools. With our school orders we include training
suggestions for using the video with groups of
parents, aides, volunteers, or student tutors. The
video is also a perfect addition to your Parenting
Library.
I wish all students the same
success that my son and others have experienced.
Their joy in finally mastering "impossible" learning
that has defeated them for so long is simply
exhilarating, and the momentum and motivation carry
them to further success in math processes that are
now easy, because they no longer get sidetracked and
"stuck" on math facts. Math doesn't have to be
frustrating. All students can learn, and Toby's Way
is a way to success for many students with learning
difficulties.
Educators 2000 PO Box 1627,
Claremont, CA 91711
Phone and Fax:
(909) 624-8899
